Thursday, February 27, 2014

Sorry it's been a little quiet over here at the Doc's office - promise we'll have some more Views soon, but we've been busy in the lab whipping up some more dynamite since HIDDEN HORROR keeps exploding all over the place.

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

I missed a lot of the “classic” 1980s B-movies in their prime, only catching up with them much, much later on home video and at a more advanced stage in life. As a result, they don’t often carry the same sentimental nostalgia that they do for many other horror fans my age, although I have come to appreciate their cheesy appeal in a way that the younger version of me probably couldn’t have. When I finally took the plunge and rented Night of the Demons about 10 years ago, though all-too-familiar with its hag-adorned video cover art over the years, I found it to be “not bad,” with Steve Johnson’s exceptional makeup effects (in his first solo effort) balancing out the dumb-dumb characters and logy first act. After recently sitting through it a couple more times, in honor of Shout! Factory’s recent DVD/BR release, I have a much greater sense of appreciation for Kevin Tenney’s sophomore effort – it really is one of those special films that gets better with each viewing.

It's that time of year again - time for The 12th Annual Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards. Make your horror voice heard - the "for your consideration" deadline for nominations ends this Saturday, February 15.

If there's something you really dug, be it a particular indie horror movie, artist, podcast, blog, website, article, magazine, or, I don't know, book that you'd like to give a pitch to, now's the time to do it.

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

I've been keeping a fairly low profile with regards to not using this blog space to promote HIDDEN HORROR...but then I remembered, "Oh, yeah, I actually WANT to tell people about the book and people who are regularly visiting this particular realm of cyberspace might actually WANT to know what's going on with it, how to purchase it, etc." So, while this will absolutely not turn into an ongoing commercial for HH, I am going to share some good news from time to time, for those who are not regular frequenters of our Facebook page or who might have missed the latest bit of exaltation from our little dark corner of heaven.

For starters, here are links to some of the first reviews we've received:

Sunday, February 9, 2014

The Doc’s office has been open, but 2014’s viddying schedule has been sporadic at best. The Year of HIDDEN HORROR has been taking up an inordinate amount of time in terms of promotion, fulfilling orders, and general merriment, but, additionally, I just haven’t been in the mood to (*gasp*) watch movies. It could have something to do with the fact that every time I settle in to catch a flick, I get distracted by A) a project left undone, B) an assignment incomplete, or C) general guilt or worry about A or B. I’m sure it’s just a phase and that things will return to their regular pace at some point, but for now, we’ll have to make do with the following 18 movies, many of which fall under the “obligatory viewing” category (promotional screeners or SAG Award nominations), although I did enjoy a few “just for fun” flicks with blood brother John Pata while he was in the neighborhood applying the finishing touches to his latest Head Trauma Production, Pity.

As always, feel free to leave your two cents worth – we’ll make sure you get some change back.

Seeking a weekend of isolation and romance, an appealing young couple from the south of England (Kelly Reilly, Michael Fassbender) find themselves locked in a war of wills and retaliation with a group of rebellious adolescents on the shores of the titular vacation spot.

One rain-soaked night in a timeless, nameless land, a man arrives at the doorstep of a secluded house in the woods with a bullet in his shoulder. Two voluptuous women, having just returned from digging a hole in the backyard, take him in. What follows is a surefooted combination of jaw-dropping, exploitation-rich, often direct-address narrative content (kidnapping, murder, sexual S/M games, madness) with Aris Stavrou’s pristine black-and-white noir-styled cinematography.

Thursday, February 6, 2014

Growing up in the 80s as I did, I have many formative memories of early MTV-era, where big hair and bodacious babes ruled the airwaves. And, like many a red-blooded heterosexual teen, I was gobsmacked in late 1987 by the sight of a certain fiery-maned, negligee-clad lass frolicking in, on, over, and around David Coverdale’s two Jaguar XJs in the video for Whitesnake’s “Here I Go Again.” Even before the days of the interwebs, word quickly spread: the unattainable beauty in question was one Tawny Kitaen, and I missed many a class while waiting to catch a glimpse of her in a pre-YouTube era. (She’d already made a splash in the 1984 Tom Hanks movie, Bachelor Party, but I hadn’t seen it yet.) So, when I learned that there was a haunted Ouija board movie out there on the video shelves starring “that girl,” I made a point of tracking it down.

About Me

Well, during the day I move among you as mild-mannered Aaron Christensen, Chicago actor. But at night, when the popcorn pops full, I transform into my alternate personality Dr. AC, hopeless horror movie nerd-cum-Ambassador of Horror.
However, despite my inclination to discuss monsters that pervade, aliens that invade, creatures of the night, vampires that bite...I'm actually the nicest guy you'll ever meet.